Circe (2018)
by Madeline Miller
“That is one thing gods and mortals share. When we are young, we think ourselves the first to have each feeling in the world.” — Circe
Motivation
This wasn’t on my recent Greece reading list but I was looking forward to its release so when it came off hold at the library a few days ago I jumped right in. (I also had read, and loved, Miller’s The Song of Achilles a few years ago.)
Overview
Circe is a beautifully written story told from the point of view of Circe, one of the many nymphs daughters of the Titan god Helios (the sun). An embarrassment to her ultra-dysfunctional family (all Greek myths seem based on monsters and horrible characters) she is exiled to the isle of Aiaia for eternity.
Most famously, she’s associated with the story of Odysseus, when he and his crew come ashore on her island. (She’ll turn his crew to pigs but soon be charmed by Odysseus himself). This interaction doesn’t come until halfway through the book but does provide something of an origin story for Circe and an epilogue for the Odyssey.
Before her famous interlude she comes across a slew of characters including Jason and Medea, Daedalus and his son Icarus, King Minos and his daughter Ariadne, Theseus and was at the birth of the Minotaur. Since she is a goddess, albeit one with limited powers, and technically a witch, the reader gets a unique perspective about mortals and their relationships with gods, faults and shortcomings and all. Very entertaining and great context for Greece travel and further Greece reading.
For travel
Very accessible and an easy read but very entertaining even with little background to the Greek myths. All characters appear with enough context for understanding but not so much to slow the story down at all. This and The Song of Achilles are perfect reads for getting into the mindset of Greece travel, the long history of drama, tragedy, and masterful storytelling. There are dozens if not hundreds of Greek myths, making wonderful books like these very enjoyable ways to navigate an ancient world full of them.
Also a great read before visiting Greek islands as the flora and fauna play major roles in the solitude and lifestyle of an exiled witch. Without giving away too much, she also travels to other islands including visiting her dreadful sister on Crete (before the latter gives birth to the Minotaur), currently our main focus for future trip back to Greece.
Considerations for kids
Our kids are very interested in whatever we are reading, even pretending to read the books if we leave them out. Our 5 year old son asked about the lady on the cover of the book, so I gave some context into “monsters…which are pretend” and other challenges faced by the protagonist, but he’s already loosely aware of myths (“very old stories, probably pretend, that teach us lessons” is his description) and he has some idea who Odysseus is from Trojan War kids book and bedtime stories.
Like most Greek myths, this story has a lot of violence and sex, though not gratuitous nor dwelled upon, it’s probably safe to give it a “PG-13” rating. Not graphic, but at least one expletive (see also how the Minotaur happened) and among the few sex-related scenes, one is implicitly not consensual. Seeing this in writing gives me pause, but as I read it was much more subtle than, say, the violence of war in the author’s Achilles book. Our kids are quite young and have almost no screen time so it’s hard to gauge what might be too much for kids; use your best judgement. (We’re often surprised by the violence in cartoons watched by friends and nieces and nephews, and by young adult books with lots of sexuality and violence. Maybe we’re uptight.)
From a reading level and plot perspective, the book could be handled by 13+ with a little stamina to make it almost 400 pages. It’s also a nice change to have not only a female author (formally trained in the classics) but a female protagonist. The life lessons and challenges faced by this exiled goddess are relatable despite being philosophical and cross-generational.
Looking forward to other classical Greek tales.
talk soon,
Dan
Family discussion topic: What are some familiar Greek myths and why do the stories endured the test of time?
They might recognize poems like the Iliad or Odyssey, or characters like Zeus, Athena, and Apollo. You can also ask them about Helios, Oceanus, Chronos and others whose names are near give-aways